My IQ160 still holds up very well on these rusty things. I even get the impression that the IQ160 suits my 503cw better than the old P25 I had, when it comes to sharpness. Tolerances (and training after a few years with that body), I suppose.

Of course you can use a smaller pixel back if you use blitz or with very fast shuttertimes (faster than 500 in most cases, but all together you will gain very little IQ in perfect situations and without the blitz you will be completely lost. On the screen it will look fine, but when you get home and take a closer lookyou will have a lot of unsharpness from vibrations in the camera.

What do you want to do with the camera?What are you ok NOT doing with the camera?What do you love about cameras / what's important to you?What is your broad budget range?What are your wants/needs/priorities for: - ISO - long exposures - resolution / print size - shooting speed

Really just a crazy idea. I just tested an old Sonnar 150/4 and I was really impressed by it's performance. Old Hasselblads can be have dirt cheap and lenses, too. So I was thinking about building a kit with a few Zeiss lenses, old 500 body. Still need a decent viewfinder and an 'acute matte' screen.

I essentially shoot on tripod, MLU, minimum ISO. Largest prints I made are 70x100 cm but my normal print size is A2. I often crop wildly, but only in one dimension.

What do you want to do with the camera?What are you ok NOT doing with the camera?What do you love about cameras / what's important to you?What is your broad budget range?What are your wants/needs/priorities for: - ISO - long exposures - resolution / print size - shooting speed

... what I have in mind is just to make use of some dirt cheap cameras and lenses...

maybe look for a P21+ refurbished (or even "new") directly from Phase One (a Phase One dealer that is). The back actually never sold very well and today you should get a 18MP back for a very good price. Of course the crop is 1.3 (wrt 645!). But the look of the P21+ is gorgeous... it looks very filmic (up to ISO800 even without applying any Luminance NR in C1).

I agree on the issue, but what I have in mind is just to make use of some dirt cheap cameras and lenses. I bought a Sonnar 150/4 for 400$, mostly for testing an I'm quite impressed.

Best regardsErik

I had one of those too; it was very nice in the studio but also very prone to flare in outside shots against the light, which I learned to avoid, but that's not a good thing to have to do: it cuts down your artistic choices. It worked well with a Softar, though... What would worry me today, is the shutter. Using such a lens on a camera with is own shutter is different to depending on the ancient leaf shutter in the old lens itself.

I had one of those too; it was very nice in the studio but also very prone to flare in outside shots against the light, which I learned to avoid, but that's not a good thing to have to do: it cuts down your artistic choices. It worked well with a Softar, though... What would worry me today, is the shutter. Using such a lens on a camera with is own shutter is different to depending on the ancient leaf shutter in the old lens itself.

I'm considering to build a small system around Hasselblad 500 series. What MFD (pre owned) would I be able to put on a V-series camera?

Best regardsErik

Erik -

A reasonable pursuit. The interesting thing is that most of our Hassleblad and Contax customers are the most stable, in terms of feeling the (lack of) need to upgrade camera/backs. I think that speaks to a genuine fondness and preference for the camera platform. And if that is in place, then there are a number of ways you can go.

I had a client try out the CFV-50 a couple weeks ago. Even though he would have to turn the camera itself over to shoot a vertical (he mostly shoots landscapes), he was still intrigued by the simplicity of the CFV, with no cable. It felt very simple, and that was his key, he wanted simple. In fact, that is why he wants to continue shooting his Hasselblad. But for some, turning the camera on its side would be a deal breaker, and if they wanted long exposures past 30 seconds, only the Phase Plus backs provide that option. It is pretty subjective, but the positive is there are quite a few models to choose from.

Some of the below solutions start at less than $4,000, even from a dealer like CI.

**Phase One P/P+ SeriesPros: Plus backs can perform very long exposures, can be re-mounted on the camera for orientation changeCons: Small, mediocre LCD screen, Sync cable required

maybe look for a P21+ refurbished (or even "new") directly from Phase One (a Phase One dealer that is). The back actually never sold very well and today you should get a 18MP back for a very good price. Of course the crop is 1.3 (wrt 645!). But the look of the P21+ is gorgeous... it looks very filmic (up to ISO800 even without applying any Luminance NR in C1).

just a suggestion...

I truly love my p21+ on the Contax. It's fast, shoots at almost the film frame rate and as mentioned the grain structure is very pretty as long as you don't pixel peep into the shadows on a computer. In print it looks "right".

I use it next to the P30+ and honestly when I uprez in C-1 I have a difficult time telling the difference.

There is talk about the 1.3 vs. 1.1 crop of a p21 vs a p25 but actually it's more like 1.16 vs. 1.26. If you come from a larger sensor back you notice the difference, but if you don't you never notice it.In fact I find the p21 and p30 crop just perfect for the 80mm f2 which makes it in theory around 100mm if compared to a full frame sensor or film. I also use the 55mm a lot which comes in at around 70mm.

It seems I shoot 90% with the 55, 80 and 120 macro. I guess I'm so used to the crop I don't notice it anymore.

My best friend in Paris, Didier Bizos uses a p21+ on his V series. He has a contract with a famous Paris studio to shoot celebrities during the Cannes film festival where they set up a portable studio and they make huge prints. He uses the P21+ exclusively and they rave about the prints. A lot of his subjects think the prints were shot on film because of the look and always say something like "you can't get this look from digital".

He uses that p21+ and V system for almost everything and it gets the job done.

In fact 800 iso is quite usable with the p21+ and all phase backs have an almost free update with c-1 v 7, as they have come a long way with noise reduction.

Just a quick question on the CFV. I got a CF39 and I still need a synch cable between the back and the CFE 80mm. Am I doing something wrong? The back won't capture anything unless the cable is plugged. Also, how is the CF39 in terms of sharpness? I've been playing around it to be honest the images are not as sharp as I'd like at 100% I shoot under good day light and around F11 125s so I don't think it's an aperture or focus issue (focused at infinity). I'm thinking it might be due to slight mirrow slap or the older lens?